


Steal The Stars

by Vullet



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Gay Robots, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, putting not-idw-canon characters into idw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-07-10 11:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15948416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vullet/pseuds/Vullet
Summary: Swearing loyalty to the Grand Architect for saving his life was one thing - falling in love with a former Decepticon leader was a whole different situation Flame was unprepared for.on hiatus





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> i would like to note this is canon divergent from all my other scorpflame fics  
> i would also like to note if i wasn't a coward this would end up as scorponok/flame/sideways but also i want to spread the good word of just scorpflame to people

Flame had lost count of how long it’d been since the Grand Architect had found them. It hadn’t been long - maybe only a few solar cycles - but adjusting was already difficult. Everything until recently had seemed bleak to him. Everything insisted he’d be stuck on Garrus-9 for the rest of his life, and he still didn’t understand why Shockwave had gotten him out in the first place. He was just an Autobot who’d gone astray, but definitely not enough of a big name for Shockwave to pick him out without thought. 

 

This Grand Architect, whoever he was, seemed more promising than Shockwave. He had offered Flame and Scorponok freedom from being stuck with the rest of the escaped prisoners - he had saved their lives. Without him, Flame could only have thought he’d still be adrift in space, slowly dying as they’d jumped out of the ship due to fear of the DJD in nowhere. But his suspicions about this cause had been rising - he was immediately separated from Scorponok, as if this mech had a preference for someone more notable. 

 

He found himself pacing around the room he’d be told to wait at, boredom getting into him quickly. There was nothing to do, and it was probably killing him more than actually dying out in the middle of nowhere would have. All there was to keep him grounded were his thoughts - that weren’t anything good. Flame scratched at his insignia - the Autobot badge he surprisingly was never stripped of, before looking up at the doors. As if on queue, they opened. The mech who stood there was about Flame’s height, and looking for kibble, he seemed to transform into a bike. Their color scheme was mostly a mixture of purple and yellow, with an unmatching grey head. What seemed to be a smaller mech was equipped as a piece of kibble onto his arm, the black taking away from rest of the arm’s coloration. Notable was lack of insignia - all the non-Cybertronian species Flame had seen up to then under his new boss’ employee wore a gear like symbol - but this mech was blank, and seemed to just be staring past him. 

 

“So,” he spoke. “You coming or not?”

 

“One second,” Flame called, taking a few seconds to think up his options. He wanted to make sure that whatever he was doing was safe, and believing he could trust the other, he followed.

 

“The Grand Architect found you and your partner didn’t he? You’re lucky - you could have been put in much worse positions.” 

 

“I wouldn’t consider me and Scorponok partners as much as I’d consider us two smart ex-prisoners who took a stupid chance in an attempt to survive.”   
  


“Hm.”   
  


“I mean you’re up to your own opinions, but from my perspective, you’re putting us a lot closer than we actually are. We had literally just met a solar cycle previously,” Flame rambled on, before realizing he was probably speaking more than he needed to. 

 

“You were involved in the war, weren’t you?”   
  


“I mean, it’s kinda obvious. I’ve got the Autobot badge on my chest in full view - I don’t know why you think I wouldn’t have been involved.”   
  


“Your friend had a different badge. You were on opposite sides, weren’t you?”   
  


“I wouldn’t consider Scorponok a friend either - but yes, we were.”   
  


“I never got involved. I met the Grand Architect vorns ago, and swore loyalty. It’s been easier this way. No morality involved, just work for the greater good.”   
  


“What do you mean by the greater good?”   
  


“That’s something he can explain to you. We’re here,” the purple bike said, stopping at an open door. “You first.”   
  


Flame, wary, pushed the door open and walked inside. The other came behind him, walking at a much slower pace than him. The room was empty other than a transmitter - Flame stared at it in curiosity.

 

Before he could examine the controls, the other mech had turned on the device. Nothing popped up - Flame had used ones similar to this before. He knew the mech on the other end was definitely hiding their appearance for some reason. 

 

“Greetings, boss,” the other said, arms crossed. He looked almost bored - as if this conversation was just a waste of his time.

 

“Ah, Sideways. On time as always,” the Grand Architect spoke over the comm.   
  


“I wouldn’t delay my services to you. I brought the one you wanted,” he said, grabbing Flame’s shoulder and pushing him forward. Flame bumped directly into the transmitter, before stumbling back and fiddling with his hands out of nervousness.    
  


“Uh, hello?” Flame inquired, tilting his head.   
  


“Flame, isn’t it?”   
  


“Yes.”   
  


“Very well, Flame. I suppose you have questions as to why you are here,” The way the one on the other side spoke made it seem as if he was amused with the current situation.

 

“I feel it would be simplest to thank you for saving my life, first and foremost.”   
  


“That’s something I seem to keep doing. I consider myself lucky to have Cybertronians like you - they’re hard to find these days.” Flame took a moment to process that. Cybertronians, even with their lacking numbers, had never been hard to come across in his experience. He wondered how far off the Grand Architect had been working from where the war had been occuring.

 

“I wouldn’t consider myself much. Just loyal to serve whatever your cause is.”   
  


“So, Flame, are you willing to hel-”   
  


“That’s a bit too much for him, you know,” Sideways poked in. “If you’re going to do the whole monologue you did to the last few of us. I’ll do it. Our mission is simple - a threat is coming and we need to get rid of it. Are you willing to contribute to our cause?”   
  


“It’s the least I can do.”   
  


“Alright, boss. I’ll take care of this from here,” Sideways said, shutting down the transmitter. “Now, do you mind removing your badge if that’s possible?” Flame hadn’t even thought of doing that yet. He scratched at the insignia, eventually removing it and throwing it on the floor. By then, Sideways had grabbed what seemed to be a long metal rod. “Hold still,” he said. “It’ll be painful.”

  
Flame braced himself as Sideways slammed the rod into where his insignia had been, nearly falling to the floor before holding the spot with his hand. The Grand Architect’s badge was burning onto his body, and he only looked up at Sideways, wordless.

 

“That’s one way to start a friendship,” Sideways laughed, before reaching his hand out. Flame shook it, still in pain from the branding. “Welcome to the team, Flame.”

 

“Uh, thanks?” Flame could only respond. Looking towards the future was blank in his mind now - he had no idea what came next, but whatever it was, he was hopefully prepared for it.


	2. ONE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2200 words babey.....i dont even have the full fic plotted out but im excited

Adjusting to being a real recruit was quite easy for Flame - he was treated better than he was by the Autobots. By then he had learned quite a few things about the Grand Architect, such as the fact that his fleets operated entirely on Worldsweepers. An interesting choice, in all honesty. He didn’t get the feeling they were a former Decepticon, however.

He’d been given free range of the ship he was to do whatever he pleased as long as it was in the lines of non-dangerous to others, and it was overly exciting when he got access to the Grand Architect’s supply of materials. He’d never had access to fully perform any experiments with the Autobots - anything he wanted to try was deemed unethical or wild. Here, he could do anything he wanted. It was a nice change of pace for Flame, as he never felt bored when being allowed to go at it without restrictions.

Flame was in the middle of writing out plans for his next project when he felt his built-in commlink light up. ::You around, Flame?:: Sideways said, his voice seeming impatient.

  
::Uh,:: Flame stumbled. ::I obviously am, since these are short-range comms, aren’t they? You specified that when you gave me one.::

 

::I meant it metaphorically,:: Sideways responded. Flame felt himself tense up, not out of fear, but out of the annoyance that Sideways thought he wasn’t smart enough to know that Sideways was making a sarcastic comment.

  
  
::Yes, alright. Do you need anything?:: Flame said back.

  
  
::Yeah. Meet me at the bridge, Flame. And make it fast, it’s not worth wasting time when the enemy is approaching so soon.::

  
  
Overly serious about whatever was happening, Flame thought. That’s all Sideways was. But Sideways seemed to have been under the Grand Architect’s command for ages, so Flame’s bigger concerns were something like that affecting him and Scorponok.

Him and Scorponok. Flame didn’t understand why every time he thought about the situation, his processor included Scorponok. It was just a coincidence they ended up in this situation together. There was no reasoning for him to think of the other mech every time he wondered about what to do in this new situation. He didn’t need another attachment to drag him down. So he put both his stray thoughts and work aside, and decided to meet with Sideways for whatever the bike required his assistance for.

 

* * *

  
“Hello, Flame,” Sideways said, as Flame entered the room.

 

“What’s up?” Flame asked, noticing nobody else was around.

 

“Well, I’ve been talking to the Grand Architect, and they’re considering trying to pair you off to work with another one of us in service. You’re a genius - but from what I’ve noticed, not quite skilled in properly executing things.”

  
  
“So you called me up in person just to tell me I’m incapable of basic instructions? You dig a lot deeper than I thought you would, even with a name like that.”

  
  
“And I’m right and you know it. You’ve done nothing but refuse to associate with anyone else - are you afraid of someone being better than you? Such as Sc-”

  
  
“Don’t say his name. I’m nothing like him. We just were in the same place, at the same time. That’s all our relationship extends to.”

 

“Is that so?”

  
  
“I’ve told you multiple times!” Flame exclaimed, feeling his hands curl into fists. He approached Sideways, and grabbed him by the glass on his chest. “Never. Ever. Associate me with Scorponok again. Got that?”

  
  
Sideways’ response was not one Flame expected. He only laughed it off and pushed Flame away, from him, standing up and adjusting the small cannons on his arm. “I could kill you right now. You’ve delivered a point, but next time, you’re going to want to be civil about it.”

 

Flame didn’t know how to respond. Those words had been said to him so many times they had nearly lost all effect, but right here in the moment, they hurt the most. Nowhere he went would leave him alone. “Alright, sir,” Flame sputtered out, clasping his hands together and backing off.

 

“Anyways, where were we? Ah yes, finding you someone to work with. We’ve both agreed on the best bet.”

  
  
“It’s Scorponok, isn’t it.”

  
  
“You don’t seem surprised.”

  
  
“You bring him up constantly around me. It’s hard to be surprised when you make it clear as day.”

  
  
“Mocking another one, aren’t you, Sideways?” said the mech entering the room. They were a seeker, with a mostly purple and teal frame, and they glared at Sideways as if they wanted him dead.

  
“Ah! Slipstream. Meet Flame. Flame, you know how introductions go, I’d assume,” Sideways said.

  
  
“He’s. An ex-Decepticon,” Flame said.

  
  
“ _She_. It’s she now,” Slipstream corrected.

  
  
“Don’t kill me,” was the improper response the former Autobot gave.

  
  
“Why do you always jump to these conclusions, Flame?” Sideways inquired.

 

“You tell me if it’s either the fact that I worked under Prowl, or the fact that I’m paranoid about everything since I was on Garrus-9. I survived Overlord.”

  
  
“Interesting. We did have our….former Decepticons interact with your friend already,” Sideways went on. Flame was too tired at this point to correct that no, Scorponok was not his friend.

 

“Of course. Because you guys are going to declare that you’re the bad guys and somebody like me wouldn’t want to join you.”

  
  
“I don’t think that’s what Sideways intended, even if he is often vague most of the time,” Slipstream said.

 

“Nope,” Flame continued. “Always the same story. They go ‘oh! You’re an Autobot, that means you’re a good guy, right?’ And then they find out that I’m disloyal and instantly agree with my higher ups that I’m useless and that for some damn reason I should be imprisoned instead of just killed. I did things worse than you Decepticons. And yet, they let you have the peace of dying easily while torturing their own.”

  
  
“And the moral of the story is?” Slipstream asked.

  
  
“The Autobots absolutely suck,” Flame said.

  
  
“I think that’s something we can both agree on. But I’m only here to inform Sideways that the Grand Architect wanted him. It’s been too long,” Slipstream said, before leaving. Sideways took off after her, and Flame could catch a glimpse of him changing into his alternate mode and dashing down the halls of the Worldsweeper, as if there was a deadline.

 

His only response to the situation he had just been put into was to just let it sink in, realizing that nothing really did change. He just had to make the most of the respect these mechs had for him.

 

* * *

 

Flame spent that night unable to fall into recharge. He was overly anxious about everything that was going on, and having past wounds torn into definitely wasn’t good for his mental state. They all thought he was bad, and wrong, didn’t they? He’d ruined his chances of ever fitting in with these other mechs, and couldn’t help but feel himself want to offline quickly for it. He figured by the time he most likely would end up asleep, he’d probably be awoken moments later, and thought it wasn’t worth it. He leaned back against the wall behind the berth in the room he’d been staying in, and only could find himself looking outside the small window at the stars. _Space doesn’t care who you are_ , Flame thought. And that was comforting enough to keep him calm throughout the night.

 

* * *

 

By the time he found himself being called up by Sideways again, Flame had processed just about every terrible situation that could happen to him solely based on things he knew about. Most of them ended with him dead, having been unable to even feel a life worth living for a moment. In Flame’s opinion, those were the _better_ routes.

Flame was mostly distracted by his own thoughts than his actual surroundings, so bumping into another mech shouldn’t have been as alarming as it was. He was looking down at the floor before finding himself ramming against a taller Cybertronian, and found himself falling backwards due to force of impact. This was prevented as the other tightly gripped his arm and helped him regain his balance, only for Flame to look them up in the face to thank them. Unfortunately, Flame found himself distracted by who he’d just found. It was Scorponok.

 

“Oh! Flame. I’ve been wondering where you’ve been,” Scorponok said, releasing his grip on the other’s arm. Flame eyed him up and down, noticing the various physical details that were different from the last time he’d seen him - most notably, the extra guns and the shorter height. His processor liked that, for some reason. He felt better being closer to the other’s height.

 

“Upgrade, huh?” Flame asked, currently eyeing Scorponok’s new hands, which were more of a mixture between his previous claws and actual normal hands.

 

“My former frame was heavily integrated with myself being a Headmaster at the time. I got it fixed to let myself adjust back to being myself again. Alone,” Scorponok replied. “Whoever found us has a lot of resources we could use, Flame. You should definitely consider your options or staying or not.”

  
  
“So you haven’t spent the past few solar cycles dealing with Sideways?”

  
  
“He’s barely interacted with me. Is something wrong with him?”

  
  
“No, no, it’s. It’s fine. He’s fine. You don’t need to worry,” Flame said, at a loss for proper words. Of course Scorponok had it better than him. He always had, regardless of the situation. “I have to meet with Sideways. You have fun doing whatever.”

  
  
“He asked for me as well.”

  
  
“Oh,” Flame said. _Great_ , he thought. They’d shoved him already with Scorponok. Flame was, at the very least more tolerant of working with him, but also felt Sideways and whoever this Grand Architect person was should have considered the fact that Scorponok was definitely way out of his league. They weren’t alike. Scorponok was infamous for working with fusing technological and organic beings, while Flame’s greatest achievement had been temporary revival of a dead spark that nobody even was there for. The thing he worked the hardest for couldn’t even be confirmed by others. Probably the only thing anyone would ever think when they heard his was “ _Hey, isn't that the terrible Autobot from the Aequitas trials?_ ”. He didn’t want to be associated with that period of his life anymore.

 

“Flame?” Scorponok asked. “Shouldn’t we be going to meet with Sideways now?”

  
  
“Oh, yeah, we,” Flame stumbled. “Uh.”

  
  
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Scorponok said, and took off. Flame followed, still at a loss for words.

* * *

 

 

“Ah, so the two of you are finally here,” Sideways said when they both entered the bridge.

  
  
“Why wouldn’t we show up?” Scorponok asked.

  
  
“Some mechs tend to be late. A very specific one I’m thinking about in particular. Be glad you haven’t met him yet.”

  
  
“So, let’s hear it. You told the boss that we’d work together because I’ve argued with you so much about the fact that no, he is not my friend, and now you’re here to announce it,” Flame said.

 

“That’s the general gist of it, yes,” the bike replied.

  
  
“Alright. That’s fine. We should be able to leave now,” the tank replied. “I have to talk with Scorponok - _alone_.” Flame grabbed Scorponok by one of his claws and pulled at him to follow outside the room, where Flame instantly broke into a panic.

 

“They want us. They want us for a reason and it’s not a good one,” Flame said.

 

“What do you mean?” Scorponok asked. “They haven’t sent a group of beastformers to mutilate me yet. Although I have not tried to assert my leadership here either.”

  
  
“Look. Techy looked at you and went ‘Wow! That’s someone I really want to add to my collection of Decepticons I pick up.’ Then he looked at me and went ‘Oh, that’s the terrible war criminal Autobot. Might as well brand him and make him mine forcefully through manipulation tactics by a guy who for all we know has two heads.’ I don’t trust the Grand Architect, I don’t trust Sideways, and I sure as hell don’t know why I’m coming out to you about this.”

  
  
“It’s because we were inducted together. Or at the same time, rather,” Scorponok said.

 

“Yes, that makes the most sense,” Flame said, counting his fingers as if to calculate how long he’d been there. “Nine solar cycles. In nine solar cycles all that’s happened to me is I’ve been stabbed in the chest with a burning metal rod and that spot still hurts. The brand doesn’t remove like one from the Autobots would. And meanwhile, you don’t even sport his sigil. There’s a suspicious bias for you going on and I think we need to get to the bottom of it.”

  
“....” was Scorponok’s reply to Flame’s rant. “You’re overthinking this.”

 

“I overthink everything, and if I’m forced to work with the likes of you, that’s something you’ll learn about me.”

  
  
And with that, Flame stormed off to leave Scorponok to question his loyalty to the one who had saved them, without time to properly think about it beforehand.


	3. TWO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and this time its shorter than usual bc there wasn't much to add. i think this is the longest longfic i've ever wrote so far. even outclasses my old yugioh shit

It wasn’t long before Sideways contacted Flame to assure that yes, he _would_ be working with Scorponok. The fact that he tried to make it seem like a surprise was what irritated Flame - he’d known from the start that he wasn’t going to lose Scorponok. Which was good, because for some reason, he didn’t want to.

The idea of working with Sideways himself was the one that stuck out more to Flame - everyone he’d met aboard knew nothing of the mech other than his name and that he was the highest ranking among them. That’s something Flame thought he’d personally like - ambiguity to everyone. Unfortunately, that was far from how life looked for him.

 

* * *

 

Flame found himself meeting with Sideways for what he could only assume was the hundredth time, and rolled his optics as the other mech blabbered on about what was required from him. Flame was sick of Sideways. About halfway through the conversation, Scorponok had shown up and merely watched in curiosity as the smaller, purple mech lectured about what was needed from the duo.

 

“I’m getting sick of this. Get to the point,” Flame said, his arms crossed. Scorponok took note of that - he liked the fact that Flame wasn’t letting Sideways’ higher ranking get to them.

 

“Ah,” Sideways said. “So you’re irritated.”

  
“Of course I slaggin’ am,” Flame replied.

 

“Well,” Sideways said. He took out a datapad and began scrolling through the notes aimlessly, before muttering something to himself. “The Grand Architect’s plans revolve around creating a new type of Cybertronian - one that can turn into anything. But he said that’s less of a priority than making sure they’re self-healing, since we will be up against a beast more powerful than any of us.”

  
“He’s being vague again,” Flame whispered to Scorponok, who simply nodded his head in agreement. If there was one thing they had in common, it was that the two of them did not like how Sideways never provided the details on what they were up against.

 

“You two, what are you experiences in dabbling with Cybertronians themselves?”

  
“About equal to my experience with organics, but more than most of our kind. I have some ideas on how we could work out a creature like the one you require.”

  
“And Flame?”

  
“Worked a lot with sparks directly. But that’s about as far as my expertise go - anything physical is on Scorponok.”

 

“I’m glad you’re willing to acknowledge that my talents in the field of science aren’t completely destructive to our kind,” Scorponok chimed in.

 

“They are,” Flame shot back. “You’re stupid, you’ve spent your entire life trying to achieve something that not even the worst Decepticons would consider, and you make Wheeljack look like he’s got a processor.”

  
“Mm,” Scorponok responded. “I do see where those opinions could be coming from. Perhaps I should specify what I’ve achieved so far to you, away from the others.”

  
“Flame. Scorponok. Stop bickering. We don’t have time for that,” Sideways said. Flame instantly looked at Sideways, before knowing exactly what to say.

 

“But what if we’re being like this while we’re walking to a location? What if our movement is all that’s required and whatever we say isn’t wasting time. What if we have nothing else to do?”

  
“You won’t. Because if you keep asserting your boundaries to me, you won’t have them anymore. In fact, you won’t have anything,” Sideways said, pointing the cannon on his arm directly into the orange one’s face. “You’ll be _dead_.”

 

“Alright, sir,” Flame said, pushing the cannon away from his face and backing away from Sideways.

 

“I’ll leave the two of you to discuss what we have decided to require from you,” Sideways said, exiting the room.

 

“Heh. He’s fucking out of it to ask me about working on Cybertronians. My plans extend to something much greater,” Scorponok told Flame, who was processing the sentence, particularly the apparent swear word Scorponok had used. He probably picked it up back on Earth, Flame assumed.

 

“I assume that you’ll let me take lead in how we should approach this situation, then?”

  
  
“You can have that impossible challenge to yourself. I just plan to help to get on the Architect’s good side to sponsor my own ideas,” Scorponok said, looking at his claws as if he had nails.

 

“You’re very adamant about getting something for yourself out of this alliance, aren’t you?”

  
  
“Indeed I am. You’re saying you aren’t?”

  
  
“I’ve never really been given a choice to approach a situation in multiple variabilities, except in combat.”

  
  
“Oh,” Scorponok said. “So that’s what it’s like for an _Autobot._ ”

  
  
“Don’t associate me with them. I never wanted to be one of them.”

 

“Then why were you?” Flame went silent at the question, only backing up and thinking of multiple ways to change the subject. There was no way in hell he was telling Scorponok his life story, even if they were the mech he trusted the most right now.

 

“That’s not for you to know,” Flame finally responded, making direct eye contact with Scorponok. “I don’t trust you to know that much about me, yet.”

  
“Fair.”

 

“Well then. We should probably figure out how well we work together in a laboratory, shouldn’t we?”

 

“I assume that is the best approach we could take, yes.”

 

“Alright, because if we’re approaching this from my methods, we should figure out if anyone’s done something like this before. Perhaps we could ask if Sideways knows any triple changers who would be open to me taking a look at what codes them to have multiple alternate modes. If he doesn’t, I’m not sure how we should tackle the situation. But from the one time I had to quickly repair Broadside from way back when I was a Wrecker, I did take notice that they do seem to have different anatomical structures in even things as small as their joints compared to the normal forged Cybertronian, an-”

  
“What?” Scorponok inquired. Flame, realizing he had just talked for a good minute or two out loud right in front of the other, only gave a response that translated into looking up at Scorponok, and then exiting the room as quickly as possible to ignore any more conflict.

 

“He’s an odd mech, isn’t he?” Scorponok told himself after Flame left. “I can’t help but find myself interested to see if we are compatible to work on something like this.”


	4. THREE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> new chapter! I had to make an oc for this chapter, but you can check out his design here. Also some hints at some upcoming characters! https://sciencetankmode.tumblr.com/post/178650112277/so-i-needed-a-medic-for-a-fic-im-working-on-so

“Everything’s going correctly, my liege,” Sideways said over his personal communicator to the Grand Architect. Even he had to wonder if this one had a physical form, or was just some weird type of creature his kind was yet to discover. He’d been through a lot, but this had to have been the strangest person to have ever taken him under his wing. 

 

“And the new recruits?”

  
“Remind me a lot of how Demolisher and Cyclone first were,” Sideways said, leaning his back against the chair he was sitting in and pulling the comm closer to him. “But I do think I can manage them.”

 

“Alright, Sideways.”

 

“I’m calling up Jetstorm to watch them. He’s not doing anything useful at the moment, so I feel using all our pieces at play is at our best interest right now.”

 

“You know I trust your judgement. But I have something to attend to. I’ll speak to you later,” the one on the other end of the comm spoke, and then hung up. Sideways sighed, knowing that it was one of those times that his boss wouldn’t listen to him properly. But he’d make the current situation work in their favor. After all, the two of them had been keeping an eye on Scorponok and his past experiences.

 

* * *

 

Flame found himself to enjoy debating scientific theories with Scorponok, even if it could end up stressful. Scorponok could keep up at the same pace his processor worked, and unlike any Autobot he had met, was completely supportive of more questionable methods. But he also always seemed to think his ideas were better and more advanced since he’d been working on some of his ideas since before Flame was even alive, and his tendency to act superior was starting to set Flame off. 

 

“Are you sure you know exactly how the spark coding for an alt mode works? There’s no such thing as cold constructed mechs with multiple alt modes that are properly healthy, because of how our genetics work. For example, I can’t realistically be reformatted to a triple changer alt unless that’s what my spark wants, and there’s a very low chance I’d be compatible with one. It’s a miracle that Megatron handled to many frame switches…”

 

“He’s tolerant. Unlike Autobots.”

 

“I’m not an Autobot,” Flame exclaimed, angrily looking at the other. “And I want to forget that I ever was!”   


 

“The choices you make will stay with you, Flame. I can’t go back to the Decepticons because of what I’ve done,” Scorponok said, and turned away. He began shifting through the database of everything the Grand Architect’s associates had previously attempted, and scoffed at the results. “Pathetic. All they’ve tried is modding pre-existing Cybertronians, which isn’t going to work.”   


 

“Of course it’s not, because of what I previously said!”

  
“If we want to create these mechs, we have to start from scratch. Like we’re creating cold constructed mechs.”   
  


“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”   
  


"I don’t mean to insult your kind,” Scorponok said, and placed a claw on Flame’s shoulder. Flame flinched, before adjusting to the grip. He shoved it off, and backed up. Something didn’t feel right about that. They weren’t in the point of a relationship where Flame felt comfortable with Scorponok making physical contact. 

 

“It’s fine,” Flame stumbled, and turned away, attempting to ignore the other. The duo was quiet, for awhile, before Scorponok felt the need to speak up. 

 

“You’re more experienced in Cybertronian biology than I am. Do you think there’s any feasible way to construct a spark, or revive one?”   


  
“Yes,” Flame said. “But. It takes a lot of effort to reignite one. And usually an intact brain module. I could probably achieve something with spark casing, but you’d have to construct a brain module to be compatible to the spark, which is a challenge within itself.”   


  
“And do you think you can do this?”   


  
“I believe I can,” Flame lied. There was no way in hell that he was trying one of his theories for a professional job. That was all his field, all what he did was suppose to do on his own. He didn’t want to disappoint Scorponok for some reason, and thus admitted his full thoughts instead.  _ I’m stupid, _ he thought.  _ I shouldn’t be this open with someone I barely know. Why am I like this? _

 

“Hey, uh, Flame?” Scorponok asked. The other was silent, so Scorponok tapped on his arm lightly, and then harder, to get Flame’s attention.

 

“What is it?”

  
  
“You weren’t responding.”

  
  
“I know I wasn’t,” Flame said. “I was focused in my own thoughts.”

 

“I know that feeling.”

  
  
Flame looked up at the other and smiled, before commenting “I’m glad.” 

 

::Flame,:: Sideways said over their commlink.

 

“One second, Scorponok! Sideways is calling,” Flame said, raising up an open hand to signal Scorponok to stop talking. 

  
  
“Alright,” Scorponok said, and turned away.

 

::What do you even want, Sideways?:: Flame asked.

 

::You.::

  
  
::Alright,:: Flame said. “Scorponok, I’ve got to see Sideways. See you around!” 

 

“Yeah, whatever,” Scorponok responded.

 

* * *

 

“Ah, Flame. One of my favorites,” Sideways said, clasping his hands together.

  
“I thought  _ I _ was one of your favorites!” exclaimed the jet who was behind him.

 

“You are, Steelstrike.”

  
  
“I really shouldn’t be surprised at the fact that you show up with a new jet every single time you call me up,” Flame said. “Steelstrike, is it?”

  
  
“Yes,” Steelstrike muttered. “The  _ real _ favorite.”

 

“I just wanted to inquire how you and Scorponok are getting along,” Sideways said, looking directly at Flame.

 

“We’re fine, aren’t we, Scorps?”

  
  
“He’s. Not there,” Steelstrike pointed out. Flame flinched, and realized that no, Scorponok was not even remotely close to him at the moment. 

 

“I’m just used to being stuck with him, I suppose.”

  
“You need to get over that,” Sideways said. “You remind two remind me too much of another duo I’m forced to work with.”

  
  
“Oh, really? I was excited that the boss picked up some new mechs. I was getting sick of repairing Cyclone every single time he went outside,” Steelstrike said. “What a disappointment.”

  
  
“I’ll show you a fraggin’ disappointment,” Flame exclaimed, before realizing that he had nothing to apply to the insult. That’s all he was. A disappointment to the Autobots, an enemy to the Decepticons, and just a metaphorical chess piece to this Grand Architect person. It’d be easier if Scorponok was here, he thought. 

  
  
“Scorponok, why the hell do I always come back to you?” Flame muttered under his breath.

 

“What was that?” Sideways asked.

 

“Nothing! I was just, well, um, distracted.”

  
  
Sideways didn’t respond, as he received a comm right then. “Steelstrike, watch him for me. Jetstorm’s been transferred to this fleet of Worldsweepers, and I need to meet with him.”

  
  
“Woo-hoo,” the grey mech said sarcastically, before turning to face Flame. “Are you okay?”

  
  
Flame was silent. In fact, he wasn’t even properly processing anything said to him at the moment, because he’d struck a revelation.  _ He was into Scorponok. _


	5. FOUR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one took longer than i expected! i love writing bm jetstorm....

Flame had spent the past two cycles processing the fact that he had indeed fallen for Scorponok. It wasn’t really that easy to process, considering the fact that he was definitely far out of Scorponok’s league. _Scorponok_. Flame almost wanted to laugh at the fact he’d fallen victim for someone like him, but he also should have expected it by now. He felt his commlink light up, and braced himself to face Sideways once again.

 

::Hey, Flame?:: Scorponok asked over the connection. The one who was named flinched, expecting him to accidentally say something he’d regret over the comms. 

 

::Yes?:: Flame asked, nervous as hell.

 

::Just wanted to let you know, I love-:: Flame didn’t properly process this, as he was reeling from this statement. He wanted to shout over the comms how he felt the same way, and felt his spark beating at a faster pace than usual. The comm lit up again. ::Sorry about that, my vocalizer wasn’t working properly. I love how you get angry about Sideways calling you up, because you barely know the guy and already hate him. It’s just amusing to me.::

  
  
Flame, realizing what Scorponok had just said, wanted to drop dead on the floor. He was that close to having ruined any chances of a relationship with the other, and it struck him as probably the most tense moment in recent history he could recall. He sighed, and didn’t respond. He didn’t want to. Flame hated the fact that he had just let himself feel that. His emotions weren’t going to ruin how he worked. He wasn’t going to let them. As long as he could do so, at the very least.

 

* * *

 

Scorponok paced around the room he’d been assigned to, concerned about Flame not properly responded. He assumed it was a bad move to have said that, but he was just lonely and wanted someone to talk to at the moment. The lack of a response from Flame made Scorponok assume that he hated him now, so he decided to ignore what was happening and contacted Sideways.

 

::You got anything for us to do?::

  
  
::Not now,:: Sideways responded over the comm. His voice was panicked, which was incredibly unusual for him. ::I-:: The transmission cut off. Scorponok tried to ring him up again, but nothing happened. He didn’t feel concerned about Sideways, and shrugged it off to something else.

 

Some part of him wanted to call up Flame again, to chat about his recent ideas in the scientific field, but he knew the other mech wouldn’t care to hear anything relating to his interest in organics. Or really want to listen to him at all. He didn’t need Flame to validate him. He could just ask someone else for help.

 

* * *

 

“Damn, Sides. You thought it was a good idea to mess with the Consortia right now? You killed an entire fleet,” a blue and yellow four-armed Cybertronian said. His appearance was abnormal, as while obviously a jet, he was lacking any notable legs.

 

“You know that the Grand Architect wanted me to test if our projects are working.”

  
“Maybe your magical biologist new guy can help.”

  
  
“Jetstorm.” Sideways turned, and looked directly up at the hovering mech. “I’m not risking everything because we got Scorponok.”

  
  
“Who’s that? Is that the biologist guy you were talking about?”

  
  
Sideways groaned, and glared at the other. “Scorponok. Decepticon. Galactic criminal because he’s obsessed with merging Cybertronian lifeforms with organics.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Now do you remember him?”

  
  
“Nope.”  
  
Sideways rolled his optics, and sighed. Scorponok was really the only Cybertronian they’d got who wasn’t a complete idiot. Slipstream was competent, but she was a fighter. Flamewar rarely showed up, and now Flame seemed to be distrusting. Jetstorm didn’t know much, and was just good at combat commanding, due to his former experiences working with a fleet of drones. Demolisher and Cyclone were the most incompetent team of morons, as they tended to be across the multiverse Sideways recalled, and Steelstrike was constantly angry at the duo. Everyone else was a blacksmith who wasn’t directly working under their troops, and Sideways didn’t really want anyone else showing up, less they were Shockwave himself. Really, working under the Grand Architect was one of the worst moves he’d ever made. But leaving now would potentially have deadly effects on this universe, and he had admittedly grown to like the few mechs he met here that he got along with.

 

“Hey. Hey Sideways.”

  
  
“What?”

  
  
“Are you like, alive?” Jetstorm inquired, tapping the motorcycle’s left wheel from behind.

 

“Yes. And you may not be.”

  
  
“Nice.”  


Sideways was already regretting the fact that he’d called Jetstorm up.

 

* * *

 

 

“What’s up, Flamer?” Steelstrike asked, as the orange and red bot had ended up walking over to his room. Flame was in desperate need to anyone to talk to. Anyone who wasn’t Scorponok or Sideways. 

 

“Nothing. I’m fine. I just wanted to talk to someone.”

  
  
“I’m an odd choice. I’m the _medic_ ,” Steelstrike stressed. “I’m the least interesting person you’ll meet. There’s Scorponok, y’know?”

 

“I don’t want to interact with him right now.”

  
  
“Steelstrike was saying you talk about him a lot,” said an unfamiliar voice. Flame looked to his side to meet a blue and golden helicopter, who looked past him at the jet.

 

“Frag,” Steelstrike said. “Leave me alone now, Flame. I have to deal with worse things.”

  
  
And so Flame left, realizing that not even for a moment was he capable of interacting with anyone else. After all, this was just because he had feelings for Scorponok that he shouldn’t have. And he wanted those to be over.

 

* * *

 

 

Scorponok found himself being called up by Sideways at about the same time Flame had found himself cast out by the other recruits, and wasn’t exactly pleased to meet with him. _Flame was right_ , Scorponok thought. _He never does stop calling people up_. 

 

“Ah, Scorponok. I expected you to be here earlier,” Sideways said, meeting him halfway to the supposed destination. “Don’t feel concerned. I was going to meet up with you as soon as possible, so I assumed approaching you myself would make this quicker for us to get it over with.”

  
  
“Get what over with?” Scorponok grunted, feeling himself angry at being interrupted from his previous behavior of doing nothing. He shouldn’t have been mad at Sideways. But he couldn’t seem to help but feel that way.

 

“Introducing Jetstorm, who’ll help me monitor the other Cybertronians in service to the Grand Architect.”

  
  
“Cybertronians in particular?”

  
  
“We can’t trust our own kind, after we set off a four million year war, can we?” Sideways asked.

 

“But most of us weren’t involved, or were on the same side.”

  
  
“That doesn’t matter. I have to keep my optics on all of you, and I can’t say I particularly trust someone infamous for making everyone of his own kind dislike him. Isn’t that right, Jets-” Sideways turned to see nobody behind him, and growled. “Great. Jetstorm left me like usual.”

  
  
“I guess he didn’t want to involve himself in your need to know everything about me. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t trusted.”

 

“I’ll destroy you if you try anything. I want you to drive that into your processor.”

 

“I have already done so,” Scorponok said, and turned away.

 

* * *

 

 

Flame kept walking down the halls of the Worldsweeper almost aimlessly, just trying to pass time. There wasn’t anything for him to focus on, so he was just trying to ignore his feelings. He didn’t want to let that interfere with anything he’d end up doing, but he couldn’t get his processor off the thought of Scorponok. Flame absolutely _hated_ that. So it was only fate that he’d very obviously find himself running into Scorponok while trying to take his mind off his interest in the other mech. He saw the other slightly within his field of view, but tried to play it off as his imagination running wild before literally walking into Scorponok. That seemed to happen a lot, Flame noted. He looked up to meet the other, who seemed a bit alerted to their encounter. He almost didn’t notice the faint grasp of Scorponok’s claws around his back, preventing him from running off easily when he regained full control of his body.

 

“Uh……..” Flame stumbled. He took both hands and tried to shove off Scorponok’s claw, who let go and moved away. 

 

“Did Sideways want you as well?” Scorponok asked, seemingly unaware of how awkward the situation already was.

 

“Yes,” Flame lied, and took a step back. He wanted to avoid the other as much as he could, because Flame knew himself at this point. He knew that he’d be stuck thinking about Scorponok for as long as he’d be stuck with him.

 

“I wouldn’t bother going after him. He seems to be having trouble managing everything right now. Perhaps we could work on something in the meantime?”  


“Like what?” Flame asked. “I don’t think I’m in the mood to do anything you’d be into.”

  
  
“Ah,” Scorponok said. He tilted his head. “Is something wrong?”

  
  
“You.”

  
  
“Oh. What I said earlier. I didn’t mean to fake you out on anything, I-”

  
  
“Leave it. I’m just an idiot who overreacted.”

  
  
“That’s fine, isn’t it?”

  
“I guess,” Flame said, shrugging. “Just don’t say something like that over the comms next time. You don’t want to tell Sideways that you hate how vague he is only for him to come and kill you.”

  
  
“That’s a good idea, Flame.” Scorponok put one of his claws on Flame’s shoulder, and Flame let it stay. He just wanted to enjoy this for now. Just the two of them. He could let this slide, because it felt good. He was about to put his free hand on the other’s, when a sudden noise shocked the two of them.

 

“Aw slag,” Jetstorm said, having just knocked over a pile of spare energon cubes. “The cubes are deceased. That’s _so_ sad.”

  
  
“Who the hell are you?” Scorponok asked.

 

“Who knows? Only the greatest Cybertronian to exist, in fact. Thrust would have loved to see me up here, being third in command. But that’s his fault for leaving me?”

  
  
“So you’re a Decepticon?” Scorponok assumed.

 

“Thrust, Thrust, Thrust. A seeker, right?” Flame followed up.

  
  
“A _what_ ,” Jetstorm looked at them in utter confusion.

 

“Like Slipstream,” Flame said.

 

“Ooooh. Nah, he was like Sideways. A bike. We got along really well.”

  
  
“I don’t think you did, considering that he seemingly left you,” said Scorponok.

 

“A loss is a loss. You’re the new guys, right?” Jetstorm hovered up to make direct eye contact with Scorponok, the latter visibly uncomfortable with how close they were apart. 

 

“Don’t get in his space, you foolish jet,” said Flame. “Some of us feel uncomfortable when others get too close.”

  
  
“Alright, alright,” Jetstorm shoved Scorponok away, and turned to face Flame. “I like you. You’ve got more personality than anyone else who’s been here so far.”

 

“That doesn’t explain who you are,” Flame blankly responded back.

 

“Ah, yes. The name’s Jetstorm. And I assume you’re Flame and the big guy is Scorponok. I’m usually good at figuring who is who. I got Cyclone and Demolisher right the first time I saw them!”

  
  
“You’re correct,” said Flame, and he exchanged a glance with Scorponok. Neither of them seemed particularly pleased with their new acquaintance.

 

::Jetstorm!:: Sideways yelled over the public comms. ::If anyone, and I mean anyone has caught sight of Jetstorm, inform me immediately.::

 

::He’s with us,:: Scorponok replied.

 

“Not anymore!” Jetstorm said, fleeing in the same direction he came from.

 

::Was with us,:: Flame decided to correct.

 

“I don’t like him,” Scorponok said.

  
“I don’t like him either, Scorps.”

  
  
“Scorps?”

  
  
“Is that okay to call you by?” Flame asked nervously, tapping his fingers together.

 

“Yeah. That’s fine,” Scorponok replied. “I’m just not used to nicknames.”

  
  
“It’s easier for me to say. I’m not the best with words, y’know?”

  
  
“Yeah. I know. See you around, Flamer,” Scorponok said, and left to follow Jetstorm.

 

Flame stood there, and felt something inside of him that he could definitely identify now. Maybe Scorponok did like him. It felt nice to have a chance on something for once, Flame thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the guy who showed up at the scene with steelstrike and flame is cyclone. if you havent caught on already, he's armada cyclonus. yes, i am using this fic to import as many of my faves into idw as possible


	6. FIVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short chapter before tfcon! enjoy

Flame tapped his fingers against the desk in his room aimlessly, distracted by a multitude of thoughts, most of which related to Scorponok. He was, in his mind, absolutely hopeless of ever getting Scorponok to think of him as even a friend. He really wished he didn’t feel things. At this rate, he was convinced being shadowplayed would be better than his current state of emotions.

 

“Primus,” Flame muttered, his tapping almost being in a specific rhythm now. There wasn’t much else to do, other than talk to Scorponok. And that was the absolute last option on his list. He picked up the datapad he’d been given, and turned it on. He sighed as he typed the name of the mech he’d fallen for into the database the Autobots had on Decepticons - he still hadn’t had himself removed from there for some reason, and looked blankly at the page. Just a bunch of things about his weird science experiments. Nothing interesting.

 

Out of sheer curiosity, he began to look for the other mechs he’d met under the Grand Architect’s service. Slipstream was there, of course, he knew of her already. Cyclone and Demolisher were named, but the files didn’t go into detail. Nobody else appeared.

 

“There goes my chance on figuring out why Sideways is like that,” Flame said out loud to himself.

 

“He’s like that because he’s a piece of scrap metal,” a voice responded from the vents above. Flame looked up, and saw two red optics glaring back at him. With no other response, Flame shrieked.

 

“What in the name of Primus are you doing up there, Jetstorm!?”

  
  
“Oh, just chillin’. The vents are nice. Cool. Sometimes they overheat because these bastards can’t fly a ship.”

  
  
“Can you like, y’know?” Flame made gestures with his hands that he realized wouldn’t add onto the conversation, and looked back up. “Not try to talking to me through a slit of metal on the ceiling?”

  
  
“I don’t think I can do that, Flamer. Unfortunate, really, but these kinds of vents don’t pop open. I’d have to go back to get out, and I’m too lazy to do that.”

  
  
“So I’m talking to the ceiling, essentially.”

  
  
“Yep.”

 

“Great,” Flame mumbled, and turned back to his datapad.

 

“Hey. Flamer.”

  
  
“What?” 

  
“You know it’s really obvious that you’re into Scorponok, right?” 

  
Flame flinched. “He knows?”

  
  
“Nah, he’s too dumb to figure it out. But I did!” Jetstorm exclaimed. “Reminds myself of an old partner I had.”

  
  
“What happened to them?”

  
  
“He left me,” Jetstorm said, and Flame could hear him shifting around from the vent above.

 

“If he doesn’t know, what’s the point in asking me how I feel? What’s the point in showing that you know what I feel towards him?”

  
  
“I thought it might...well. It’s definitely not boosted your confidence. I just felt like saying it. I like talking, y’know?”

 

“Oh, I _know_ ,” Flame stressed.

 

“It’s just. You shouldn’t feel bad about having feelings. Don’t let them hold you down. Otherwise Scorponok will definitely catch on.”

  
  
Flame looked up, and turned his gaze away almost immediately. “I know,” he said. “I know.”

 

* * *

 

Being alone was Scorponok’s preferred choice of how to work. Sure, he’d use many other people to him farther his projects, but they were always there just to speed things up. He could do most things on his own.

 

So when he found himself with time to successfully start drafting ideas for the new project he’d planned since his imprisonment in Garrus-9, Scorponok caught himself up entirely in the work. It was weird, adjusting to the new frame. It possessed actual hands, that while not hands in the traditional sense, worked so much better than his claws had. The smaller frame also allowed him to work with slightly smaller objects, another benefit that the upgrade had provided.

 

Something wasn’t right though. Scorponok shifted, and turned down to look to his side, where Flame typically was. The smaller mech wasn’t there, and Scorponok’s antlers tilted back, and he felt something he hadn’t felt in a while. It took him a lot longer than he wanted to admit to accept the fact that he was generally lonely, and craved company that would listen to him. But the Autobots always showed up and ruined his plans, and killed those he could have considered friends. Things had never gone right for him. He tapped on his comms, wanting to talk at the moment to someone.

 

::Flame?:: Scorponok asked. No response. He tried again, and again, but the other didn’t pick up or didn’t care. He sighed, and held his head sadly on his desk. He wasn’t used to feelings like this. They felt stronger than they had before. Was it simply because another Cybertronian had been interested in his ideas? They got along terribly at most times, but whenever they could agree on something, Scorponok found himself actually enjoying the moments he spent with Flame.

 

::Scorponok?:: The comm lit up while he was distracted, and Scorponok responded as fast as he could.

 

::Erm, Flame. I was just wondering if you were free.::

  
  
::I thought you’d be off doing your weird organic science,:: Flame replied from the other end. ::Sideways wants us, if you ignored that comm.:: Scorponok shifted back, realizing he had ignored an earlier comm from someone.

 

::Ah. Thank you for informing me.:: Scorponok replied. ::I’ll see you after I contact him.::

  
  
::Yeah. I’ll see you too.:: Flame replied

 

On Scorponok’s end, he found himself realizing that he’d fallen for the other mech and just had to accept that it, at least in his mind, wasn’t mutual. And on Flame’s end, he sighed, knowing that he’d probably ruined his chances of ever getting Scorponok to view him as a friend.


End file.
